Effective Writing

Learning the skills to write quality

papers
Self-Assessment
 I understand that spoken English, “e-mail English”,
and formal written English are very different from
each other.
 I need to spend more than just one night working on
a paper in order to earn a good grade.
 The more I revise my paper, the better it gets.
 I am careful to attribute material to the proper
sources.
 I often include my opinions in a paper, but I make
sure the reader knows they are my opinions, not
some facts I looked up.
 The more I narrow a topic for a paper, the easier it is
to come up with ideas.
 The Three Steps to Effective
Writing
1. Prewriting/rehearsing- Preparing to write by
filling your mind with information from
other sources. Start writing the day you
receive the assignment, if only for 10-15
minutes.
2. Writing or drafting- A rough draft
3. Rewriting/revision- Polishing your work

 Give yourself enough time to complete all

three steps- don’t try to cram all of them in
one or two nights before the paper is due.
 The Pre-Writing Phase
 When you try to begin a paper, does your mind go blank? Does it
seem to take forever to begin writing? If so, implement these
strategies to plan your writing ahead of time, and your writing
will go much smoother!
 Begin by clarifying the directions given to you by your teacher. It
is important to do this before beginning your writing. Does
he/she want you to use APA or MLA style? Write in first or third
person? Are you arguing a point or reviewing literature already
established on a subject? Can you choose your own topic or is it
already established? Clarify these questions first before writing
anything, and talk to your teacher if you are unclear, to avoid a
lot of unnecessary time and effort later on!
The Pre-Writing Phase
 Identify- the crucial aspects of your paper
 Who is your reader? Do the readers have only a basic
knowledge of your topic or a more extensive, in-
depth background? Consider the questions they may
ask as reading and try to clarify these as you write.
 What is your purpose? To explain a concept to a
group of readers? To identify future research needs?
To argue your own opinion on a topic?
 What is the overall point you are trying to make?
What message do you want your readers to walk
away with after reading your paper? Make sure your
topic is not too broad or too narrow. Fill in the blank
“The purpose of this paper is to convince my readers
that…” (but don’t use this line in your paper)
The Pre-Writing Phase
 Goal Setting
 What resources can you utilize to complete this
paper? (library, SSC writing tutors, GALILEO, etc.)
 Generate some ideas
 Once you’ve gathered and read your resources,
explain your paper to someone in three to four
sentences. Then, make an outline/diagram of the
main points in your paper, indicating which resources
might be helpful in each point.
 Sentence vs. topic outlines
 Freewriting- Begin writing, without worrying about
grammar mistakes or misspellings. Just try to get
your main idea across, jotting down anything that
comes to mind, then you can go back and concentrate
on the details- don’t try to write and edit at the same
time.
Sample Outline
Purpose:
Thesis:
Audience:

I.
A.
B.
II.
A.
1.
2.
B.
III.
A.
B
C.
IV.
A.
B.
The Pre-Writing Phase

 This should be the stage that you

spend the most time on (85%).
 Choose a topic you are interested in.
 Know your time limitations, and start
this phase well before the paper is
actually due.
Writing/Drafting
 Follow the outline/diagram you
developed during the pre-writing
stage.
 The first draft should only comprise of
1% of your total time spent on the
paper.
 Begin paying attention to the
structure, coherency, and flow of your
writing.
Writing/Drafting
 Make sure to identify which are your
original ideas and which are the ideas of
another person by citing. This is crucial to
avoid plagiarism.
 Quote direct phrases taken from another person
and give credit to the source.
 Information that you gathered from another
source, even if paraphrased, must be cited at
the end of each sentence.
 Use the proper citations- ex. MLA, APA, etc.
Making your writing clear
 Use topic sentences for each paragraph which shows
how the topic to be covered in the paragraph is
important to your overall thesis. They can be
anywhere in your paragraph, but it may be clearer if
you include this sentence early on.
 Use multiple examples to clarify your point in each
paragraph. Each point should include only one main
topic.
 Incorporate data when applicable.
 Aim for at least three to five sentences per paragraph
and combine smaller paragraphs which are focusing
on the same idea.
Making your writing clear
 Use clear transitions between paragraphs in
order to help your paper flow smoothly.
Some useful transitional statements
include:
besides, equally important, finally, further,
furthermore, in addition, first (second,
etc.),whereas, but, yet, on the other hand,
however, nevertheless, in brief, summing
up, to conclude, in conclusion, as a result,
consequently
Making your writing clear
 Use language appropriate for your
target audience
 Vary your sentence structure.
 “We like to go camping. We go to the
mountains. We fish, hike, and sleep in a
tent.”
 “Camping is an enjoyable hobby of ours,
especially in the mountains. Some of our
favorite activities while camping include
fishing, hiking, and sleeping in a tent.”
Making your writing clear
 Avoid a lot of passive voice and instead aim
for active voice.
 “The homework was completed by Joe.”
 “Joe completed the homework.”
 Combine short sentences.
 “One of the cameras was not packed very well.
It was damaged during the move.”
 “The camera that was not packed very well was
damaged during the move.”
 Make sure your entire writing is in the
same tense.
Making your writing clear
 Using formal language is essential, but
being clear and easy to understand is more
important than using big words.
 Longer sentences are not necessarily
better. You want to be able to state your
facts/opinions as clearly and concisely as
possible. Eliminate unnecessary words and
phrases. Think short and sweet.
 Make sure you understand the words when
using the thesaurus.
 Divide your paper into sections using
headings, if necessary.
Revising
 This stage should take about 14% of
your total time.
 Utilize as many people as possible to
help you with this stage. It is
sometimes difficult to see errors in
your own writing.
 Read and re-read, clarify sections,
add clearer transitions, omit
unnecessary words.
Revising
 Don’t rely on spell check to show you
misspelled words!
 Avoid the your/you’re error.
 Go back to the Identify stage of your
pre-writing and make sure you
answered all of these questions.
Finishing up
 You may start to feel tired of reading your own
paper. For this reason, it’s important to allow
yourself enough time before the due date to relax,
step away from your paper, take a break, and come
back to it between steps.
 Don’t skip the last step! You may need to complete
the revising step multiple times. The more you
revise your paper, the better it gets.
 When you think you are finished, read your paper
out loud, ask another person to read it, or try to
read it from the perspective of a person with no
knowledge of the subject.
 Strive for an end result you are proud of!
 The SSC- Try it!
 The Student Success Center provides
writing tutors to assist you with
writing and editing papers.
 You can walk-in or make an
appointment:
 Call 333-7570
 www.valdosta.edu/ssc
 We are open Sunday through Friday!
Thanks for coming!
 The next and final seminar will be
April 22 and will contain information
related to reading comprehension.
References
 Gardner, J.N., Jewler, A.J., &
Barefoot, B.O. (2007). Your college
experience: Strategies for success.
Boston: Thomson Higher
Education.
 Purdue’s OWL online writing lab:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/hando
uts/general/index.html